Deal Killer!

I spent over an hour last night going through coupons and getting things organized to do some shopping today. But alas, I wake up to this. Still snowing and really cold. Not a good day to be travelling 3 hours each way (I was going to the city where my Grandma is staying so I could visit her as well).

So instead, I'll be staying home snuggling with kids, playing with new toys, and (hopefully) cleaning and straightening up a bit for our 'Cousins Christmas Party' tomorrow evening.

Hope you're all having a fun weekend, staying warm and enjoying your blessings.

There WILL be coupons this weekend!

Sorry, guys--got some misinformation. There will be one coupon insert in the newspaper this Sunday from P&G. Keep an eye out for it!

Also, did you know about THIS website? You can get a preview of the coming weekend's coupons a few days in advance. If there are some good ones coming out, you'll know to buy more papers!

Great Toaster Strudel Coupon!

I found a coupon this morning for $1 off ONE box of Pillsbury Toaster Strudel! I'm really excited about it because I, um, I mean *my kids*, LOVE these! Usually you only find .55 off 2 coupons, so this one is awesome. Don't forget to hit your back button a few times to be able to print it one more time!

Click HERE for your coupon!

Caregiver's Marketplace

If you're caring for young kids or a parent/grandparent, you've got to check this out. Caregiver's Marketplace is helping caregivers save some hard-earned money on brands such as Huggies and Pull-Ups, Nature Made, Ensure, Polident, Icy Hot, and many more.

You simply register at their site, then print off the form and send it in along with your register receipts for at least 5 eligible items. Very easy to do, and you get between .75 and 2.00 for items you are already buying. Click HERE to learn more.

No Coupon Inserts for Two Weeks

Just a heads-up that there is no need to get your Sunday papers this weekend or next (if you're like me and just buy them for the coupons). That will leave us plenty of time to enjoy with friends and family over Christmas and New Year's. Enjoy it, because I seem to remember being inundated with new coupons after the New Year, especially for 'healthy' and 'diet' items. *smile*

Free Christmas Music Downloads

25 days of free music from Amazon.com HERE.

They've got some great music to choose from! I know I'm posting this pretty late, but I just now got the chance to actually download the ones I wanted. Thought I'd share, anway--better late than never, right?

$5 Alice Gift Card from Swagbucks!

***I misunderstood how this works originally--I just snagged one of these gift cards, and in the 'fine print' it states that it will only allow one gift card/code per swagbucks account, and the cards/codes cannot be combined with each other. So, not free stuff, but cheap(er). Sorry about the misinformation! I'm very bummed about it, myself. :(

You all know how much I love Swagbucks. I have the toolbar and use it anytime I need to do an internet search. I sometimes use it to 'search' for sites I want to visit anyway (and know the address for), just to give me an extra chance to win those digital dollars.

I've always used my swagbucks for $5 Amazon gift cards--they're just 45 swagbucks, which I can earn in about a month. It's like free money just for doing your thing online! I used the gift cards that I had saved up to help with Christmas shopping this year--every little bit helps, right?

Well, it has come to my attention that Swagbucks is now offering $5 gift cards to Alice.com for ONLY 20 swagbucks!

If you've never heard of it, check it out--Alice.com is a pretty new shopping service for nonperishable grocery and household items. The best part is that they offer FREE SHIPPING on every order (I believe they require a minimum of 6 items per order). Another plus--they offer 'coupons' on some items, turning their already-reasonable prices into some pretty good deals.

I think that during times in life when you just don't have time or are physically unable to get to the store, this service is great. If you're in the last few weeks of pregnancy or just had a new baby, this will save you (or your husband :) a trip to the store just to grab those few items you're running low on.

I'll definitely be giving this service a try now that I can use my 'free' money from Swagbucks! When you go that route, it's like free household items. It doesn't get much better than free!

Cool Crafty Links

Thanks to my friend Paula over at Hearty Works, I've been enjoying a few new-to-me crafty blogs this morning. Here are some highlights:

Giver's Log: Hot Chocolate on a stick! And if you need more incentive than that to check out the site, you may not be human. Or you were never a kid. Take some time to look around at all her great gift ideas--not all homemade, but all are thoughtfully categorized for the perfectly suited recipients.

Design Mom: She has some great ideas for displaying children's artwork HERE.

Infarrantly Creative: Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series begins HERE.

Enjoy!

Shop at Home $100 Gift Card Giveaway

Toni over at The Happy Housewife has a giveway for a $100 Gift Card to any online store on the Shop at Home website. I've used this site several times in the past couple of months to find coupon codes for free shipping and other deals. Check it out!

Shop at Home $100 Gift Card Giveaway

How often do YOU cook?

I cook pretty much every evening these days, but breakfasts and lunches are usually cold stuff or warmed up leftovers.

In the past, I sometimes did some 'planned leftover' type of cooking. I would brown 5 pounds of ground beef, then package it into meal-sized portions for the freezer. Or cook a couple of chickens, or a 10 pound bag of leg quarters, then de-bone and freeze the meat for later meals. This helped a LOT (and I should probably do that again sometime).

But one activity that sounds so helpful, is Once A Month Cooking (OAMC). I've done this only 2 or 3 times in my cooking career, and let me tell you--it's work. But it pays off exponentially throughout the month, when you simply pull meals out of the freezer and reheat them. It's wonderful. But it's a LOT of work.

Money Saving Mom is hosting a Freezer Cooking Day over at her blog. I hope you'll go check it out and click all the links for some great recipes and strategies.

Drive-by blogging

Hihowareyou? We'refinejustreallybusy. I'msureyouare,too. Hopeyouhadahappythanksgiving. Hereisagreatrecipethateveryoneshouldknowhowtomake.

And I'll even use punctuation.

Scotch-a-roos

1 c. white sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 c. peanut butter (creamy, please)
Rice Krispies--I used about 10-11 cups, 7 or 8 might be enough.
2 c. Chocolate and/or butterscotch and/or peanut butter chips

Put cereal into large bowl. In medium saucepan, combine sugar and syrup. Bring to rolling boil, then remove from heat. Add peanut butter and stir until combined. Pour over cereal in large bowl and stir to coat. Press into buttered/sprayed 9x13 pan (when I used 11 cups of cereal, I needed all of my 15x10 cake pan).
Melt chocolate/flavored chips in microwave, stirring every minute, until melted. Spread over cereal mixture in pan.

print grocery list
Enjoy!

A Day Away

My dear Mother-In-Law gave me an evening away yesterday. I got to drop off the kids at her house at 2:30 pm. and didn't have them all back until about one o'clock this afternoon. Granted, I did pick up 3 of them to drive to a dentist appointment this morning,but she still kept the others! :)

What did I do with my 'time off'? Well, dh was at a job training/class, so I went shopping! My friend and I traveled to the nearest large town/small city to do take advantage of some Target and Walgreen's sales. Now, I was driving, and it wasn't pretty, so we didn't exactly make good time on the traveling part and it was 12:30 a.m. when we returned home! Talk about some serious shopping!

We stocked up on some major sales for Thanksgiving. Did you know that Walmart has turkeys for only $.40/lb? The limit is 2, and we each got our limit. At that price, I couldn't afford not to get that. Even chicken rarely gets lower than .69/lb around here, and it's so nice to roast a turkey and freeze a bunch of leftover meat for easy meals later on. When I don't have time to look up recipes specifically written for leftover turkey, I simply use it as I would use precooked chicken in favorite family dishes such as chicken/turkey pot pie, noodle soup, or a rice or stuffing bake.

Can't wait for Thanksgiving! What are some of your favorite side dishes for the big feast?

Williams-Sonoma style for $3.00!

Check out this blog post for a beautiful craft that won't break the bank and would make a wonderful gift. It's so pretty, I want to make a million of them and give them to everyone I know. And keep a set for myself. :)

Thank you for sharing, Melissa!

Great Photo Deals!

I just ordered my Christmas photo cards for FREE from Seehere. Get 50 free cards plus FREE SHIPPING! Use the code freebies4mom-1109 when you checkout. You might be able to add other gifts or prints to your cart as well to take advantage of the free shipping--I meant to try but forgot in all my excitement! LOL

Also, go HERE to find out how to get 100 free prints from Snapfish--today only! Thanks, Amy!

Free Mini Makeup Kit at E.L.F.--my review

Over at e.l.f. cosmetics, they're having a promotion that you might be interested in--get a FREE mini makeup kit with ANY purchase. I was so surprised when I first checked out this website--there are MANY things that are only $1! Most of their individual cosmetics and tools are--from makeup brushes to lipstick to bronzer and eye shadows. They have cute stuff for teenagers and more sophisticated stuff for adults.

Just add any item to your cart (or as many other items as you'd like!) and use the code LOYAL when you check out. It will add the mini makeup kit to your order for free. You will have to pay shipping on the order, which was 6.95. But I was pleasantly surprised to find an extra lip gloss in my order as well as the makeup kit, with a label calling it a 'gift from e.l.f.'. Sweet! I'm saving it for a stocking stuffer, so can't review that item yet. :)

I just got my first order from e.l.f. last week. I was really pleasantly surprised! I was worried that the makeup would be of poor quality, but so far I've been really happy with it. I had read some reviews saying the makeup didn't stay on very long, but that has not been the case for me. When I wash my face at night, I still see plenty of eyeshadow on the cloth. Also, the lip color seems to stay on pretty well. It's not an all-day formula, but I still notice color several hours after application.

I also like that there are several matte colors and some glittery colors of both the eye shadows and the lipsticks. There is only one blush and one bronzer, but the colors seem neutral enough that most people could use them. I personally really like them both. There is also a dark brown brow powder, which is something I've never used before, so that's fun.

My personal favorite, though, is the sparkly clear lip gloss to go over any lip color or wear alone. It's shiny and makes my lips feel great, and that little sparkle is just fun. There is also a white cream eyeshadow, which you're supposed to apply to the inside corner of your eyelid, to make your eyes look more open and 'awake'.

All in all, I've been really happy with this product, and the fact that it was FREE is super sweet. I'm considering doing this deal again, since there are a few other e.l.f. products I'd like to try for myself, and I could give the compact as a gift.

Click To Give

Here is an easy way to help several different charities. Just click and the advertising money that is generated from the site goes to that charity. You can click once a day--why not?

Click to Give

Creative recipe

What to do when you're out of bread for sandwiches at lunchtime:

Bean and cheese quesadillas

1 can refried beans
12-16 oz cheese (cheddar or colby jack for us)
some chopped onion (from freezer)
chopped green pepper (from freezer)
1/2 cup (more or less) salsa

Mix all together. Spread about 1/3 c. on flour tortilla. Top with another tortilla. Microwave or grill/fry until melty. Yum.

In the world, but not of the world

I'd like to share a post by a fellow blogger, Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living, who reminded me today to remember God in EVERY area of life, even shopping and couponing.

I've surprised myself a few times as I shop with coupons, finding great deals. Sometimes I get greedy, wanting to get as much as I can when I find a great bargain. I've been guilty of clearing a shelf here and there, leaving little for others to enjoy.

But I've also been fortunate enough to be able to share many of my great finds with others. I'd like to encourage you all to share your blessings as well. This time of year is difficult for so many families. I'm sure that even those of us with small bank accounts have an abundance of something--whether it's time, talents, willing hands, or material blessings. Let's not forget to share that abundance with those who need it.

Read Ashley's post here.

"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
Hebrews 13:16--New International Version of the Bible

Family Photo Fun

I like to have group photos of my kids--who doesn't? But...what. a. CHORE!

I've been putting it off for several weeks now, so today I just bit the bullet. Got the kids their breakfast and asked them to go find shirts that were blue or white, and blue jeans to go with.

The girls got excited. The boys started groaning. :)

Found clothes and arranged the shirts on the couch to find best options, so when we actually went outside (I love natural light for photos), we could get right to it.

Trimmed boys hair above ears (they needed it!), combed and washed faces. Missed one, though, and didn't find out until photo shoot was 1/2 over. sigh.

Fixed girls' hair, got baby washed up and dressed, went outside to finalize the location.

I originally planned to hang a sheet from our deck and put the kids on the ground in front of the sheet. Well, the sky was dark and it had apparently been sprinkling for a little while, because the ground was wet.

I didn't want muddy photos.

Looked around for other options and noticed our old, dilapidated shed. A perfect rustic backdrop for casual family photos!

Got the kids arranged and started shooting. I used the 'burst' mode to capture 3 shots at a time, hoping to increase my odds of getting a good one.

Took over 50 photos.

Not one photo with everyone looking at the camera and smiling.

Maybe next year.

Stockpile Secrets

A friend recently asked me, "Where do you keep all those groceries?" When you buy 36 boxes of cereal, they don't exactly all fit on the top of the fridge. :) So, I've had to get a bit creative, and I imagine I'll have to hunt up some more 'hiding places' for my stockpile as it continues to grow.

The first thing to do when starting a stockpile, is to clean and organize the spaces you already use. My cabinets and pantry had become so disheveled and cluttered that I didn't think I could fit much more in them. But re-organizing and throwing out things that were unusable or unwanted, made a world of difference! It's amazing how much space you can free up after this step.


I also paid my dd (with video game time :) to clean off the big shelf my husband built for me in our laundry room.


And then there are a few things just shoved wherever they'll fit. :)

A few tips I've gleaned from others:

Items do not have to be stored in traditional locations. Canned goods can fit under couches/beds/other furniture. Try putting your bed on risers and using under-bed storage boxes.

Do you have unused cabinets up high or down low in your house? Stash extras there, then replenish your 'regular' cabinets as needed.

Can you or your spouse install some extra simple shelves in an out-of-the-way location in your home?

What about a garage or storage shed? If the garage is attached, that would be perfect for canned goods, or bottles of laundry detergent, shampoo, bar soap, an other items that animals wouldn't be tempted by. You just want to make sure that liquid items wouldn't freeze. Dry goods would be fine in these locations as well, as long as they were sealed up in plastic totes or buckets to keep pests out.

If you have a basement, that's another great place for a shelving unit to store items.

If you don't have these extra spaces available, what about finding an extra corner or shelf in a closet in your home? Can you declutter unneeded items to make room for your stockpile?

These are just a few ideas--get creative and work with what you've got! Stockpiling is an important part of saving as much money as possible on groceries and household items. You'll be seeing the savings add up in just a few weeks.